Australia's unemployment rate has been up and down since it shot up from 4.2% to 5.6% in 2009, and it’s projected to continue to hold steady at a peak of 5.7%.
If that sounds high to you, be glad you’re not trying to find a job in Mauritania or Bosnia and Herzegovina where the unemployment rate sits 30.8% and 28.7% respectively.
A low unemployment rate can make things tougher for HR, creating essentially a seller’s market where potential candidates have more options and can therefore be pickier about the salary and benefits they want. Hiring managers in Singapore might wish the unemployment rate was a bit higher than 3.1%, especially when they have skilled roles to fill.
Australia's rate is lower than that of New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the US, but is still well above Singapore's table-leading 3.2%.
| Country |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 [Projected] |
| Singapore |
2.9 |
2.8 |
3.1 |
3.2 |
| Japan |
4.5 |
4.3 |
4.1 |
4 |
| China |
4.3 |
4.5 |
4.6 |
4.7 |
| Austria |
4.1 |
4.3 |
4.8 |
4.9 |
| Germany |
5.9 |
5.4 |
5.3 |
5.3 |
| Australia |
5.1 |
5.2 |
5.6 |
5.7 |
| New Zealand |
6.5 |
6.9 |
6.4 |
6.1 |
| Canada |
7.4 |
7.2 |
7.1 |
7 |
| United Kingdom |
7.8 |
8 |
7.5 |
7.3 |
| United States |
9 |
8.2 |
7.5 |
7.2 |
| France |
9.2 |
9.9 |
10.5 |
10.9 |
| Ireland |
14.6 |
14.7 |
13.6 |
13.4 |
| Greece |
17.7 |
24.2 |
27.6 |
28.1 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina |
27.6 |
28.1 |
28.6 |
28.7 |
| Mauritania |
31 |
31 |
30.9 |
30.8 |
